Life, Liberty And Justice For Some

A writer on Associated Content published an article detailing the last words of several Texas inmates who were executed this year. Ironically, I stumbled across the article on the front page of Associated Content literally right after visiting the website for Death Penalty Focus.

I actually used to be for the death penalty. Not exactly a gung-ho supporter, mind you, but I just couldn't see any alternatives in some cases. I even took an entire class in college devoted to discussion of the death penalty; we ended up bitterly divided over the situation by the end, and the professor remarked he'd never seen such a passionate, stubborn group of students before on both sides.

Since that time, I've learned quite a bit about the death penalty: its history, the controversy, and all the problems inherent with a system run by imperfect people that--by necessity--has to be perfect. Where does that leave the wrongly convicted, of whom the numbers (thanks to recent advancements in DNA-related technology) are growing every day? What about the ratio of poor criminals executed to their richer counterparts, who can afford better counsel--and consequently avoid the same outcome?

Maybe there isn't a true "alternative" to the death penalty, but this isn't the answer, either. If there was a fair, balanced, perfect system in place, attitudes surrounding the practice might be different. But because it isn't a perfect system (and obviously never will be), what's the point in enforcing it intermittently, with drastically different outcomes for criminals with similar convictions--not to mention those wrongly convicted?

The US is one of only a handful of countries who still practice legally sanctioned executions. Maybe it's time to change that.